When I first came in contact with my African heritage, I did not see browns and beiges. I saw COLOR! Bright, beautiful colors. Geometrics, floral, sea shells, animals. There were pictures of my African sisters in the most exciting patterns I had ever seen. I realized there were as many different colors and patterns of fabrics and textiles as there are the beautiful people of our homeland!

Years later I came into the African American market and started incorporating those fabrics into my home fashions line. It was so difficult to limit my choices because there were so many gorgeous prints. I didn't want to overlook anything I thought my customers would appreciate.  Today it 's still difficult to choose fabrics but not for the same reason. I CAN' T FIND THE BEAUTIFUL COLORS OR AFRICA!! ALL I SEE IS MUDCLOTH, KENTE AND BLACK!! WHAT HAPPENED!?!

Although I embrace my African roots, I am American. I have been influenced, like many of you, by American and western culture. I am not ashamed of this. I do follow the trends season to season.. When, for example, the fashion color was lime green, I found an African fabric in the same color. I couldn't keep my sundresses and jumpsuits in stock! An African fabric that reflected the color of the season. That's AFRICAN AMERICAN!

WE LOVE COLOR! And we, as Americans, are also accustomed to certain color schemes. Admit it. Some of shied away from African themes because we could not see how the AFRICAN COLORS being offered would fit into our everyday surroundings. There was kente cloth in red, green, gold and orange. Then there was the "darks"; brown, rust, dark green, maroon and of course lots of black. Most of us played it safe with the neutral palettes found in mudcloth and kuba cloth. PEOPLE YOU DON'T HAVE TO SETTLE FOR ANYTHING! THERE IS MORE TO AFRICA THEN KENTE AND MUDCLOTH!

There are batiks with those intricate veins, hand painted works with borders, traditional symbols creating sophisticated patterns. It is  popularly worn by our African sisters . This fabric is  usually floral or feminine and are perfect for dresses, tablecloth sets and bedding!

Do you like Geometrics? Flowers? Stripes? How about blue? Don't we as Americans wear lots of blue? Can we say denim? Then say "INDIGO: the other mudcloth". Whatever color you like, whatever the style of the day, there is an authentic African fabric that will meet your needs.

Another colorful alternative is "ROYAL KENTE". This  woven  textile is manufactured in Ghana, influenced by the original kente cloth. It comes multi colored with jewel tones as well as the traditional black- red- green- gold stripes. This fabric is perfect for home fashions because of its weight and the color variations easily fit into any existing decor.


Where to find them? This can be a challenge since the design technique of African textiles seems to have gone high tech. I have spoken to and BEGGED my fabric suppliers to bring back some of the prints from the past (The mainstream market does not worry about "recycling" old patterns from the 70's and 80's).

How do we get these neglected "gems"?  First, start digging. Look at the different regions or countries of Africa. Some of the fabrics that have caught my eye come from Nigeria, Mali, Benin, Ghana and South Africa. Next, let's keep asking our African suppliers to source fabrics for us. Some independent suppliers get these unique fabrics as "close outs" in their shipments. These fabrics may be difficult to reorder but keep communicating.

This trade show may even have vendors that sell the fabrics written about in this article! Major fabric shows may carry them. And let's not forget about modern technology. Surf the web! Personally, I have taken action. I've started designing textiles last year and sold 2 of them to one of my suppliers.

In the meantime do not limit yourself to brown and beige. After all we are people of COLOR.

The author, Barbara Garnes, is the merchandiser and owner of MY FATHER'S HOUSE. Her home fashions collection includes Royal Kente. Her latest collection "beyond mudcloth" offers her customers products in unique textiles and treatments and is marketed toward the bridal market. She is also developing a complete line of prints for the African American consumer.